Today’s quick review: Kickboxer: Retaliation. Eighteen months after defeating Tong Po and avenging his brother, kickboxer Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) is kidnapped and taken to a Thai prison, where fight promoter Thomas Moore (Christopher Lambert) forces him to fight his champion (Hafthor Bjornsson). Kurt must train with his old master Durand (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and fellow prisoner Briggs (Mike Tyson) to stand any chance against the behemoth.
Kickboxer: Retaliation is a martial arts action movie and the sequel to Kickboxer: Vengeance. The sequel picks up months after the first film left off as Kurt is hauled back to Thailand and forced to fight by a bloodthirsty promoter. Decent stunt work and a couple of familiar faces make Retaliation a credible attempt at an action flick. But poor storytelling, shaky direction, and mediocre fights overall keep the film from gaining any traction.
Kickboxer: Retaliation puts the bulk of its effort into its action scenes but only gets mixed results. The stunts themselves are fine: big hits dished out by trained fighters and embellished for the screen. But the fights don’t carry much tension. Kurt either decimates his opponents or gets flattened in return, and the injuries he receives don’t carry much weight. Overly busy camerawork also distracts from the otherwise adequate stunts.
Nor does Kickboxer: Retaliation have much in the way of story. At its core, the movie is the plain but workable tale of a reluctant warrior forced to fight for his life against a superior opponent. But the plot doesn’t flow nearly as well as it should. What should be a simple progression from start to finish is bent out of shape by spurious plot elements, a needlessly large supporting cast, and scenes whose logic is unclear.
The film’s biggest draw ends up being its supporting cast. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mike Tyson, and Christopher Lambert lend Retaliation a certain type of star power. While none of their performances are exactly compelling, they do give the movie a touch of goofy charm. But Retaliation never figures out how to capitalize on these lighter moments. The tone remains fundamentally serious, but the film lacks the craftsmanship to make its drama stick.
Watch Kickboxer: Retaliation only if you’re a fan of the budget side of the action genre. Retaliation holds modest entertainment value for the right viewer, but its many shortcomings when it comes to story, character, and even action mean that most viewers would be better off skipping it. For a somewhat better take on the same character, try the original Van Damme version of Kickboxer. For an underdog story with more heart, try Rocky.
5.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for decent action held back by a weak story and poor execution overall.